The wife of New York Liberty WNBA star Breanna Stewart was the target of death threats last week, the New York forward said on Tuesday.
Marta Xargay Casademont, a former WNBA player who married Stewart in 2021, received the threats in Stewart’s personal email account.
The couple have two children, aged 3 and 11 months old.
Stewart said on Tuesday: “Myself and my family, we’re definitely doing OK. We’re taking the proper precautions.”
She said she notified the WNBA and the Liberty and that Xargay Casademont alerted the police.
The emails came in the wake of New York’s overtime loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday. Stewart had a chance to win the game but missed a free throw in the last second of regulation, and then she was off target on a would-be game-tying layup in the last second of overtime.
“We love that people are engaged in our sport, but not to the point where there’s threats or harassment or homophobic comments being made, so we’re just continuing to let the league know,” Stewart said.
“They’re handling it, but also, I think for me, just continue to use this platform to make sure that everyone knows that it’s unacceptable to bring to our sport and really into the world.”
She added: “There’s another level of invasion happening there. (We want to make) sure that this isn’t happening only just for a scare tactic. And if it is, it still is highly inappropriate and unacceptable.”
The issue of online vitriol directed at WNBA players prompted the league’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, to say last week: “We stand united in condemning racism and all forms of hate. The WNBA is one of the most inclusive and diverse professional sports leagues in the world, and we will continue to champion those values.”
Stewart said of the league potentially setting in place guidelines for how to deal with hateful messages and threats: “There needs to be a little bit of like a protocol or a thing before the season, because this year especially is one it’s really starting to happen.”
